An Alien Lost in a Sea of Humans
by Irhaboggles
Summary: Kara was always up to date on the latest trends and fads. If there was ever a question about pop culture, she always knew the answer. Lena was on the opposite end of that spectrum. She hardly even knew what social media was! But despite their differences, the two were very close. But perhaps that was because they were both coming from the same problem: loneliness.


Kara Danvers was always up to date on the latest trends and fads. If there was ever a question about pop culture, she always knew the answer. This was not because Kara enjoyed keeping up with the times (though sometimes she did, because modern culture didn't always suck), but rather, it was to keep her cover and hide the fact that she was very much _not _with the times. Even though Kara had lived on Earth for over half of her life at this point, there was still a tiny part of her that never really left Krypton. She had a gut feeling that no matter what she did, she would always be a bit… different from everyone else. But in order to minimize that difference and blend in as well as possible, Kara immersed herself completely within Earthly culture, no matter how much she did or didn't like it.

Admittedly, sometimes, keeping up with the trends and times could be fun! But other times, it just felt so silly and stupid and confusing. It was like no matter how hard she tried to stay relevant and modern, there was always some new trend or meme popping up that she had to go and catch up on. And sometimes, it just didn't make any sense to her and she didn't enjoy it. It didn't matter how much she knew about Earth culture, it was always from an outsider's perspective. She could quote all kinds of pop culture-related things and she could reference pretty much any meme or vine someone asked her to, but it all felt so… rehearsed. It felt performative, like it was an action instead of an experience, an obligation instead of a recreation. She didn't really feel a part of the culture she was immersing herself so deeply into it and that made her feel the loneliest of all…

On the other end of the spectrum was Lena Luthor. She, like Kara, was a social outcast. Perhaps she was human, but that didn't make her any more knowledgeable on pop culture than an alien. If anything, Kara probably knew more than she did! But that was because, even though both of them were cultural misfits, while Kara felt compelled to hide that as best she could, Lena felt no desire to study up on the culture she was failing to understand. At least in terms of media and memes. It was just too overwhelming, and she didn't care enough to try. While Kara acknowledged her isolation from Earth culture and actively moved to remedy it by immersing herself in everything, even the parts she didn't like or get, Lena went the opposite direction and continued to draw inward on herself, closing the door to the outside world.

Of course, even she knew a few memes and pop culture references, but she remained mostly in the dark about other things. There were a lot of new slang terms that she did not know. There were vines she didn't get. There were shows and musicians she'd never even heard of, let alone listened to. It was like talking to someone who lived under a rock. Even though Lena, decidedly, had a much classier home, because she isolated herself so much from the world around her, she was very out of the loop with the times.

But even though this was a self-perpetuating vicious cycle, Lena just didn't see the incentive to try to fit in. Why conform to a world she didn't get or like? Why conform to a world that hated her anyway? Beside, she knew that if she tried to fit in, that would make her feel even lonelier than now because the realization that she had to actively _try_ to belong while everyone else was able to just do it would be an even more painful reminder of her difference than just not getting the jokes and references at all. In short, she would rather remain ignorant and be honest about it than try to be something she was not, all for the sake of fitting in. Sure, it was lonely, but the other option wasn't much better. Besides, there was just too much of everything now a days that it was a burden to try to learn it all. All of these new vines and memes and challenges! Who even cared? Lena had _better _things to do than learn what "yeet" meant, or try out the newest Snapchat filter, or whatever.

In short, she and Kara were very much on opposite ends of the spectrum. While Kara could pass for a pop culture guru who was always up to date on, and in-the-know about, everything and anything, Lena hardly even knew was social media was. Kara could carry a very knowledgeable conversation about the latest news and gossip, Lena didn't even recognize half the names in the headlines. But despite this drastic contrast, the two were incredibly close. But maybe that was because, even though they sat on opposite ends of the cultural spectrum, they both got to where they were through the same problem: isolation. They were both misfits and outcasts. That similarity was enough to draw them together…

"Look, I know you have a very busy life as Lena Luthor and all, but how can you _not _know about this?" Kara teased as she handed her phone to Lena. Yet another Kardashian scandal. How cliché.

"To be honest, Kara, I've just never really fit in with this culture," the Luthor replied as she handed the phone back to Kara. The title was all she was going to read. "I don't have anything against it, I just don't enjoy it. And because I don't enjoy it, I don't pay any attention to it. I have no idea who any of these people are and I really don't care. Again, it's nothing personal, I just don't really care," she shrugged, but while she looked relaxed, Kara felt her heart jump in her chest.

"I feel that!" she said quickly, then she reigned herself in, trying to not look as excited as she felt. "I mean, I never really felt like a part of this culture either," she continued, forcing herself to look at ease.

"Well, you certainly don't show it," Lena scoffed, raising an eyebrow as she looked back at Kara's phone.

"Well, to be honest, I really only follow the trends just so I can fit in," Kara confessed, ducking her head embarrassedly. "I know that sounds pathetic, but how else am I supposed to be able to keep up with conversations these days? I _have_ to know what's going on so that I can actually _talk_ to people!" she gave a weak laugh as she thought about all the times she'd been left in the proverbial dust just because she didn't understand what the people around her were talking about. Whether it was the subject or the lingo used to discuss, Kara had been left in the dust in conversations before. She felt infinitely relieved to learn that other humans felt the same way, though, and that it wasn't just her alien side showing.

For the longest time, Kara had feared that her social awkwardness stemmed from her identity as an alien. She feared that she would never truly learn how to assimilate, but to hear now that even other humans could feel lost and out of place in their own culture was a huge burden off of Kara's shoulders. She felt as if she were meeting a kindred spirit in Lena, and Rao didn't it feel wonderful?! Again, sure, they both took opposite approaches to their social isolation, but the fact that they both suffered from it was what really caught Kara's attention.

"I'm just glad someone else knows how it feels to feel like you're on the outside looking in," Kara sighed wistfully and Lena's face softened.

"You know, you don't have to play by their rules, right?" she asked, flicking her head towards the rest of the city.

"Perhaps not," Kara agreed. "But I need to be able to pass in public and I can't do that if I'm always asking about stuff everyone already knows."

"Well, _I_ suffer from a great ignorance towards our modern society and its culture and you don't see that stopping me," Lena was half-joking and half-serious as she gestured at office surrounding them.

"Agree to disagree?" Kara replied, but she gave a soft chuckle in response to Lena's little joke.

"I suppose," the Luthor pretended to mull over the question before agreeing. If trying to follow the times made Kara happy, then who was Lena to tell her to stop? They could, like Kara had said, just agree to disagree. But underneath it all, Lena understood what really had Kara so conflicted. It was easy to preach about living authentically and being yourself, but actually following through was a lot harder and scarier. She could see how and why Kara found such an appeal in just trying to fit in and go with the flow.

But for Lena, no matter how hard she tried, she just could not bring herself to care enough. Sure, she wanted to fit in too, but trying to conform was just too tiring for her to be willing to do it all day every day. She would rather be alone and be lonely than to in a crowd and exhausted. Besides, like she'd noted earlier, the mere fact that she would have to try so hard just to fit in would be a crueler sting than if she just didn't try at all. Though of course, she understood why Kara might've thought it would be worth the risk…

Even though neither of the two could agree upon which approach to life was best, they could both understand the feeling of being separate from the modern culture, and that was how they bonded.

"Sometimes I feel like an alien on my own planet," Lena sighed and Kara felt her heart skip a beat again. This time, however, it happened for two reasons. The first was because she could relate so painfully well to Lena's analogy. The second was because she was terrified that Lena had only used such an on-the-nose metaphor because she knew Kara was an alien… But for once, Kara decided to indulge and she forced herself to relax.

"Me too," she said. "I feel like an alien lost in a sea of humans," she dared to say, and she meant it with her whole heart. Lena nodded in response. Even if she didn't quite catch the true depth to which Kara was speaking, she understood the sentiment enough to agree 100%.

"When I'm with you, though, I don't feel quite so alone," Lena admitted a second later, starting to blush. "Especially now that I know that you find this culture just as weird, confusing and annoying as I do. I feel like I really _have_ found a kindred spirit."

"Agreed," Kara sighed, leaning closer to Lena. The two had been sitting on the couch in Lena's office and Kara, in her infinite relief at finding someone who truly understood how she felt, began to lean against Lena's arm. Lena was more than happy to let her.

The pair stayed like that for a good while more, just enjoying each other's presence in silence. Maybe that was why they got along so well and felt so naturally inclined to one another. Even though they were vastly different, they both knew how it was to feel like an alien lost in a sea of humans, even if this statement was only literal for one of them. But either way, their mutual isolation had brought them together and, like Lena had said, made them feel much more at home and a lot less alone when they were together.

"When I'm with you, I feel like I'm with my people. I feel like I'm somewhere where I belong."

"Me too. When I'm with you, I feel like I'm home."

**AN: Short little drabble actually inspired off a friend of mine. We both don't really know much about anything popular or trendy and that's because we're both disinterested. While I take Kara's approach of occasionally brushing up on modern stuff so I'm at least 10% culturally literate, he doesn't bother at all because it makes him sad just thinking about the fact that he doesn't just experience culture, but that he has to force himself to study it in order to be in the same lane everyone else is. **

**I like to think Lena and Kara have the same dynamic, even if you switch up the roles. It's two ways of approaching loneliness and social isolation, after all. Do you try to fit in, or do you suffer alone? There are pros and cons to either choice. **

**(Also side note, this is only an interpretation of the characters. Given what I've seen from Lena's character, I feel like she's relatively smart, culturally speaking. And Kara never struck me as one who enjoyed keeping up on trends. But for the sake of this fic, let's say that she does).**


End file.
